Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Bucks County officials announced last week that both Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s ratings services reaffirmed Bucks County’s “AAA” bond ratings.
The good news came the week before the preliminary 2016 Operating Budget is to be revealed to the public. The budget reveal is scheduled for Wednesday at noon in Doylestown.
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The AAA ratings note Bucks County has a stable outlook for the future.
“This is great news again to receive further affirmation from these two agencies that we remain on sound financial footing,” Bucks County Commissioners Chairman Robert Loughery said in a statement. “A lot of hard work and tough decisions go into keeping these financial ratings, some of the highest you can earn. I am very proud of our team and these ratings.”
Bucks County is one of three AAA rated counties in Pennsylvania, officials said.
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“Bucks County has solid management evidenced by recent conservative budgeting and modest operating surpluses. The Aaa rating reflects the county’s stabilizing financial operations and reserve levels, sizeable tax base, socioeconomic indicators that exceed state and national medians, and a low debt burden that is expected to remain manageable,” the reports note.
The news comes while the county burns through it $50 million reserve fund to pay for programs suffering during Pennsylvania’s state budget impasse. While the money is expected to be paid back after a state budget is approved, Bucks County officials have voiced concern they may need to borrow funds due to the impasse.
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“There’s only so much money we can draw upon,” Loughrey said last week. “The cash flow implications if their isn’t a budget soon and we continue to fund what we are funding, there will be no cash left.”
The county achieved its first AAA credit rating in 2010.
